AAV News in Brief 20 September

EHang added to FTSE Russell Global Equity Index Series: AAV maker EHang announced that the company’s stock will be added as a constituent of the FTSE Russell Global Equity Index Series following FTSE’s most recent semi-annual review. The inclusion will become effective after the close of business on 17 September. “We are very honoured to be included in the FTSE indices, which are one of the most visible and reputable index families in the world,” said Richard Liu, EHang’s chief financial officer. “Following our inclusion in the MSCI China Small Cap Index and the MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index in May this year, these inclusions in the FTSE GEIS are testimonial to the continuous recognition of EHang’s business performance, stock liquidity and growth potential.” Riga Airport opens self-service bag drop: Four self-service baggage drop-off points are now open at Riga Airport, and the national airline airBaltic is the first to offer its passengers the opportunity to use this new airport service. The self-service baggage drop-off points are located in the airport’s departure hall at check-in desks No. 8-11, where airBaltic passengers who have already checked in for a flight on-line or at Airport’s self-service check-in kiosks and received a boarding pass can drop off their checked baggage. Non-standard baggage, such as prams, sports equipment, oversize baggage and similar items may not be checked in at the self-service drop-off points. Riga International Airport has invested 230,000 euros in the new lines. Air Astana resumes flights to Maldives: Air Astana will resume direct flights from Almaty to Male in the Maldives on 9 October. Airbus A321LR and Boeing 767 aircraft will operate on the route four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Economy Class return airfares start at US$680 and from US$2,070 in Business Class, including airport and other charges. All passengers, including those who have been fully vaccinated, require a negative PCR test certificate in English to enter the Republic of Maldives. Additionally, passengers need to complete a Traveller Health Declaration 24 hours prior to departure. Visas will be issued free of charge upon arrival at Male Airport. Upon returning to Kazakhstan, all passengers must have a negative PCR certificate, except those who have been fully vaccinated. Flying Colours installs Collins Venue as part of 240-month heavy inspection: Flying Colours, the North American maintenance, repair, overhaul, and completions business, has completed another 240-month heavy inspection for a Bombardier Global aircraft. The maintenance team regularly conducts heavy inspections for Global and Challenger types and used this extensive experience to complete a rigorous inspection of the Global Express jet at the Flying Colours Corp. Peterborough ON, headquarters. In addition, a landing gear overhaul, along with a number of anticipated restoration tasks were also undertaken. Running parallel with the maintenance tasks was a Collins Venue Cabin Management System installation, which was blended with Alto Aviation switches. The controls are specifically designed to fit into previous switch panel location holes resulting in a solution that maximises client budget and reduces installation time significantly. Flying Colours Corp.’ experience with the Venue back bone supported by Alto Switch sets was a factor in the customer selection of the MRO. U-Space Sandbox enters testing phase: The first test flights at the U-Space Sandbox in Hamburg will be starting from mid-September. The objective of the project is to promote commercial drone use in Germany. A first flight over the Port of Hamburg marked the start of the test flights. The project is being implemented by Droniq GmbH, Germany’s leading company for the integration of drones into airspace, and its parent company DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Sponsorship is being provided by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). The test flights will offer Droniq and DFS their first opportunity to perform practical testing of the services required in order to establish a geographical area for drone flights (U-Space airspace), which are set to become mandatory as of 2023. Multiple flight scenarios are being used to simulate various activities, including the safe and coordinated interaction of manned and unmanned air traffic in the U-Space established in Hamburg Emirates schedules daily A380 service to Istanbul: Emirates announced that it will introduce the first scheduled commercial Airbus A380 service to Istanbul, Turkey from 1 October. For the first time, travellers to and from Turkey will have the opportunity to regularly enjoy the experience of flying on this iconic double-decker jumbo jet. Emirates will operate the A380 on its daily EK123/124 service. Flight EK123 will depart Dubai at 10:45 and arrive in Istanbul at 14:25. The return flight EK124 will depart Istanbul at 16:25 and arrive in Dubai at 21:50. All times are local. Deploying its three-class A380, Emirates will offer a total of 517 seats, with 14 private suites in First Class, 76 mini pods with lie-flat seats in Business Class and 427 spacious seats in Economy Class, increasing capacity per flight by more than 150 passengers compared to the current Boeing 777-300ER. Aerometals adds Sikorsky S-70M capability to EIBF STC: Aerometals, a precision aerospace design and manufacturing company, has announced the addition of the S-70M airframe to their recently approved FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for Engine Inlet Barrier Filter (EIBF) protections. The company utilised exhaustive testing, high technology computational fluid dynamics modelling as well as bird strike analysis for its new generation engine protection system. Benefits for the twin-engine Sikorsky S-70M include protection from erosion, foreign object damage (FOD), fouling and corrosion as well as a 96.8 percent airborne salt nuclei separation protection while operating in a salt laden environment. No impact to ram air cooling, no airspeed correction charts, no parasitic drag and a fuel burn savings of up to 40 pounds per hour are ancillary benefits to the overall protection and safety capabilities of the EIBF. Topcast named exclusive distributor of Greene Tweed for APAC: Topcast Aviation Supplies and Greene Tweed signed a multi-year agreement appointing TOPCAST as the exclusive distributor for aerospace OEMs for Asia-Pacific and South America regions. The agreement covers over 1,300 Greene Tweed award-winning products ranging from sealing solutions to structural components. Topcast’s director of business development (EMEA), Kasper Tranberg, said, “Topcast is thrilled to partner with Greene Tweed, the industry leader of sealing systems, which offers a complete portfolio of elastomer and thermoplastic materials that when combined with state-of-the-art design provide a reliable sealing solution. We believe the addition of Greene Tweed can better serve our diverse customers across different aircraft platforms.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]